Suspect in fatal fire fit for trial

A homeless woman accused of setting an apartment fire in Wrigleyville that killed four people last March on Thursday was declared mentally fit to stand trial.

Cook County Judge James Linn ruled that Mary Smith, 43, was fit for trial based on the report of forensic psychiatrist Dr. Peter Lourgos, who examined her Nov. 6.

The decision reverses an earlier declaration by Cook County Judge Charles Burns that Smith was unfit for trial. Burns' decision, made in September, was also based on the testimony of Lourgos, who after a July 25 evaluation said Smith had been incapable of giving a coherent account of the events that led to her arrest.

But Lourgos also indicated at the time that Smith could be found fit for trial once she completed an anti-psychotic drug regimen.